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ASK ME ANYTHING INTERVIEW TW
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Tom
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Jun 25, 2017 01:03PM
I can't yet answer your final question, Bodo. But I think you already knew that
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Thanks Tom, makes perfect sense... and thank you so much for taking the time to answer!
Mod
Awesome questions so far everyone ;) May there be many more.
As for the question and specific examples.......
1) The Game. The Femme Fatale trope gets taken to its logical conclusion. Seduction does not work against a trained killer who knows who you are and isn't in the mood for hanky panky when he's on the clock, and willing to end your life because you're holding him up from a spot of killing.
2) The Hunter. The anti - hero trope gets subverted in the form of Victor. The standard of anti - hero in the Post 9/11 world is basically a brutal hero who is a killer of men, but not women and children. Victor however, while children off limits, is more than happy to destroy men and women and averts any sort of chivalrous behavior.
3) No Tomorrow. The Chessmaster, and revealing cover up tropes are grandly deconstructed. British super spy Andelton, while intelligent, is also too clever by half and her attempt at keeping her crime under wraps, is, contrary to the usual effortless cover up in most spy fiction, actually makes things worse, and traps her in a cycle where she leaves too many bodies for even her cowered bosses at Vauxhall Cross to look away from. And combined with trying to do said cover up in one of the most populated cities in Europe, and you have a mess of titanic proportion that would sink any intelligence officer's career.
Also, Victor's badass skills are deconstructed to a degree. The man is formidable, but even he as superbly trained as he is, armed only with a SIG-Sauer P226 simply does not have the firepower to take on a hit - squad armed with MP5SD's and MP5Ks and must gradually thin the herd as he beats a fighting retreat across the length of London.
Granted, the deconstruction is just my interpretation, I could be accused of reading too much into it, but I would argue that certain tropes that most badass thriller characters or other writers would play straight, you zig - zag, and play with.
Mod
And speaking of which, SIS officer Nieve Andelton and her henchman the South African Sinclair.
After Kasakov, they are by far my favorite targets that Victor has gone up against. It's because they are the only antagonists in the Victor series thus far, that play the evil genius/henchman dynamic straight, and also because on a tradecraft strategy standpoint and a combat/killing standpoint, together Andelton and Sinclair are equal to Victor.
When creating both characters, can you tell us what ideas were you playing around with when you were characterizing them and how they ended up as the incredibly destructive dynamic duo who gave Victor as good as they got?
Yeah Tom I knew you couldn't answer that one but I had to try nonetheless;)
One question from above,Do you have a close confidant from whom you take advice during writing? And who is the first to see the manuscript?
One other question from above. this one is from Kalman.How did you do the research for someone like Victor?
Samuel wrote: "Tom wrote: "Bodo wrote: "While I suspect you didn't initially intend it, over the course of the series, you've deconstructed and gleefully murdered many fiction tropes and conventions that other wr..."3.5/4... You have a keen, sir.
In the first two cases there was certainly a conscious desire to subvert convention. Francesca is the classic femme fatale, who in any other book would have lured Victor to bed and manipulated him to do her bidding etc etc. So, naturally, her attempts to seduce Victor fail--even though he does like her--and he doesn't hesitate in killing her when the time comes. Similarly, I had grown very bored of the contemporary anti-hero, who was little more than a hero who occasional acted mean. The many hitmen with a crisis of conscience were also grating. I had Victor execute a female assassin who was no threat to him in the very first sequence to make sure the reader understood what book they were getting into. I'm not sure if it's in The Hunter or a later book, but Victor asks the question: 'why would a woman be less deserving of death than a man?'
With No Tomorrow I wasn't setting out to subvert, but I was setting out to be believable. Anderton makes a mess of things because coverups are messy, plus she doesn't understand who she is dealing with in Victor. The Chessmaster villain is not my thing at all.
As to Victor being skilled yet not omnipotent, that too was deliberately subversive. I would argue he's the most lethal character in fiction, but he exists in a world based in reality. As you say, he--nor anyone else--can take on multiple bad guys with better weapons. It would be easy for me to write 'Victor took them all out with headshots' to cement his badass credentials, but that's not my thing, either to read or write.
Samuel wrote: "Tom wrote: "I can't yet answer your final question, Bodo. But I think you already knew that"And speaking of which, SIS officer Nieve Andelton and her henchman the South African Sinclair.
After ..."
I think you're the only person who has singled out this particular double act, who I'm quite fond of myself. After three books with male villains it was time to have a female bad 'guy', who in this instance would be a spy, but I didn't want to overload the character and turn her into someone who was both a mental and physical match for Victor. So, she needed a henchman. Previous villains had been mostly cold and calculating, so Sinclair would be more aggressive and unhinged, but highly competent with it. Towards the end of the book, when he steadies himself to take a shot on the fleeing Victor and Giselle, is one of my favourite little moments. It's a shame they both had to die.
Bodo wrote: "One question from above,Do you have a close confidant from whom you take advice during writing? And who is the first to see the manuscript?"
Writing is mostly an exercise in isolation, but I'll bounce ideas off close friends and family, though I rarely show anyone first drafts except my agent/editor. My girlfriend and sister are the only other people who get to see my early stuff. They're both incredibly astute and are a great help
Bodo wrote: "One other question from above. this one is from Kalman.How did you do the research for someone like Victor?"
I didn't really do research for Victor at the beginning beyond working out what gun he would use. I took what I already knew from various military biographies, nonfiction and general knowledge, and put it together with lots of artistic licence. Since then, however, I've studied self defence, had input from various specialists like soldiers and gunsmiths, and am always seeking out knew techniques, tactics and strategies that someone like Victor would make use of.
Mod
Mod
How did you do the research for someone like Victor?"
I didn't really do research for Victor at the beginning beyond working o..."
Okay. For those who don't know, Studio Canal and their big cheese Pierre Morel brought the option to the Victor series.
The question for Tom is, does the draft of the screenplay exist? And is the film in development hell or still slowly coming to fruition?
Mod
How did you do the research for someone like Victor?"
I didn't really do research for Victor at the beginning beyond working o..."
Also, what is the more enjoyable type of action scene, as a writer, or as a reader/film watcher? The small scale, brutal kind (like death by shower in The Darkest Day) or the grand, epic destructive set piece (the SKYFALL pre - credits sequence)?
Samuel wrote: "Tom wrote: "Bodo wrote: "One other question from above. this one is from Kalman.How did you do the research for someone like Victor?"
I didn't really do research for Victor at the beginning beyo..."
There are peaks and troughs, and right now it's in a trough. That's al I can really say on the matter
Samuel wrote: "Tom wrote: "Bodo wrote: "One other question from above. this one is from Kalman.How did you do the research for someone like Victor?"
I didn't really do research for Victor at the beginning beyo..."
The death by shower scene you mention was one of my personal favourites to write and is also one of the best I've written. Personally, I prefer an intense one-on-one to read/watch as well. Take the Skyfall example, it was too much for me; I enjoyed the more personal action from Casino Royale.
Thanks for all the interesting insights into your work, Tom! As for anyone who wants to get to know Victor or continuing to do so, be advised that Tom's newest (and best IMHO) novel THE FINAL HOUR is just around the corner! It will be released as a digital download on Amazon June 29.
Mod
How did you do the research for someone like Victor?"
I didn't really do research for Victor at the..."
Hi again. I will leave this interview thread open for 1 more day. Then I will shut it down and close up this thread.
Mod
As for anyone who wants to get to know Victor or continuing to do so, be advised that Tom's newest (and best IMHO) novel THE FINAL HOU..."
Overall, this interview has been extremely productive and fruitful. Unfortunately, the level of participation has been lower than expected. Still, I'm sure that those who have either been late, or have been unable to ask questions will be now highly interested to read Tom's books after this.
Mod
As for anyone who wants to get to know Victor or continuing to do so, be advised that Tom's newest (and best IMHO) novel THE FINAL HOU..."
So, to those who have been shy and wondering what would be the right question to ask. You have 24 hours. Clock's ticking.
Samuel wrote: "Bodo wrote: "Thanks for all the interesting insights into your work, Tom! As for anyone who wants to get to know Victor or continuing to do so, be advised that Tom's newest (and best IMHO) novel ..."
Maybe the questions were too good and there's nothing left to ask...?
Mod
As for anyone who wants to get to know Victor or continuing to do so, be advised that Tom's newest (and be..."
Heh. Perhaps you're right...... Okay. Then, we'll close up shop. Thanks to all for participating. And thank you Tom for being an excellent, friendly interview subject. I'll will be back in five minutes so everyone can says their thanks and farewells. Here's to the final hour, which is upon us and this interview
Mod
As for anyone who wants to get to know Victor or continuing to do so, be advised that Tom's ne..."
Alright. Locking down. Thanks again to Tom for taking the time out of his schedule to take part in this AMA! Buy his books!!!
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